Philipp Warnell

Phillip Warnell lives and works in London (GB)

He produces cinematic  works  and written proposals that explore a range of philosophical, poetic and sensorial thematics: ideas on human-animal relations, the political and cinematic imagination,  presence of those with prescient or extraordinary attributes and  poetics of bodily and life-world circumstances. His work is often performative, establishing elements for a film shoot as (part) event, resulting in an interplay between scripted, documented and (sometimes) precarious filming circumstances.

His extensive written work has been included in numerous philosophical publications, journals and volumes. It engages with collaborative methodologies, ethical filmmaking, contemporary art, artists’ moving image practices and film & philosophy.

He has worked at numerous universities across the UK, USA, EU and Asia, undertaking visiting professorships, fellowships and residencies, including  The Radcliffe Institute and Film Study Center at Harvard University and Leverhulme Trust residency at Warwick University and the University of Copenhagen (Medical Museion). He completed a PhD in 2020, on a decade of screen-based collaborations with esteemed philosopher Jean-Luc Nancy, supervised by author and collaborator, Stephen Barber. These collaborations now include a prospective legacy film and publication.

Warnell is also a renowned film mentor and creative producer, leading on film knowledge transfer programs including for C4, BBC and BFI across a span. 

His industry connections have involved consistently developing international co-productions and award winning films in a range of  environments, with the support of numerous cinema and documentary film agencies and financing sources internationally and in the UK. These have included: from UK, EU and US based film funds, including ACE (UK, multiple projects), Wellcome (UK, multiple projects), Channel 4 television (Random Acts), Arts Admin (UK) and FWB/VAF (Belgium), Radcliffe Institute, South London Gallery, Hunterian Gallery and Franklin Furnace (USA); and independent film producers and production companies such as Jacqui Davies and Madeleine Molyneaux.

Warnell’s films have featured in curated showcases worldwide across an extended period (2000-2024), and his ongoing participation in industry forums has included  the presentation of work at CPH-Dox (Copenhagen), FID Lab (Marseille); IDFA (Amsterdam) and Visions du Reel (Switzerland). Currently engaged in networking activities with organisations such as Doc Society (Documentary, UK), Daiwa Foundation (R&D, UK & Japan), he  has a collaborative project seeking production support (2025) for an independent film and publication project based in China, Japan and the UK.